English Dub Review: Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War – The Calamity “The End 2”

Overview:

Ichigo’s Bankai fails to reach Yhwach.

Our Take(Spoilers):

It’s been a while since we’ve seen Nel, but for the life of me, I don’t remember her getting horse legs at weird moments. A cursory Google search shows me a photo from what I think is an old episode, with her having horse legs. Maybe I don’t remember that particular episode, but when she started charging at Yhwach looking like a centaur, I was definitely caught off-guard. I’ll take it, though, because Nel is one of those characters that I don’t think we’ve gotten enough of since Bleach’s return.

I think the main thing that has led to me enjoying Ichigo’s fight with Yhwach a lot less than I normally would is how different it has been from typical shonen fights. You might think I’m being hypocritical, but hear me out.

In a typical major shonen fight, there are ebbs and flows to it. The bad guy does things to gain an advantage, then the good guy does something to gain an advantage. That’s how these fights get dragged out into multiple episodes. But in this particular fight, whenever Ichigo or one of his friends gains an “advantage,” it lasts for maybe five minutes. Yhwach looks unbothered every time it happens, and there’s been no belief that the good guys even have a shot at winning. I’m sure that’s by design, but unless you’re a masochist, it’s made these first few episodes kind of hard to watch.

I hate to reference another show, but I think most of us remember watching the Goku vs. Frieza fight back in the 90s. There were times in that fight where Frieza looked legitimately terrified of Goku, especially when he went Super Saiyan. Meanwhile, in this fight, I can’t remember a single time that Yhwach has looked even mildly bothered by what’s happening to him. Even when Orihime made her big sacrifice, it was all for nothing because five minutes later he was back, but at least he brought her back too, I guess.

I’m sure it will all wrap up in a satisfying way, and maybe I’m sounding too much like a cranky old man who needs my anime to be a certain way. But it would be nice if it at least occasionally seemed like the good guys have a chance to win. We know they will because of storytelling conventions, but I’d like it to feel earned at least.